One August day in 2013, Gilmore family stumbled upon the Compost Leaning Center Outpost. They had planned to just stop by and meet the animals. They were instantly hooked by every aspect of Earth Matter and have volunteered as animal caretakers ever since.
Laurie–an actor, Broadway theatre producer, and real estate agent, George–a musician, and their daughter Polly–a student, stayed for a couple of hours that first day and signed up to return and work the following weekend. Earth Matter is fortunate to have this rot star family as part of our family. In addition to their generous commitment to the animals at the outpost, Laurie, George, and Polly volunteer together with Puppies Behind Bars as weekend puppy sitters and are preparing for the Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer to benefit Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Before volunteering Earth Matter, the Gilmore family was familiar with composting (Polly even learned about it in school), but their experience on the island has made them much more conscious of food waste. They now save all of their food scraps and every week bring them to either Earth Matter or to a collection spot in their neighborhood.
The Gilmore family appreciates the unique experience of caring for farm animals on Governors Island…”a special adventure.” Laurie observes how “time moves differently out there. It feels so good to rake, shovel, get dirty, and forget about time.” In the Earth Matter, Governors Island time warp, it’s nice to not reach for your cell phone for a few hours.
Each member of the Gilmore family has a favorite animal: Laurie loves Patches the goat, a 2013 resident, Polly thinks Mr. Tino is irresistibly cute and furry, and George has a special appreciation for “the Phyllis Diller chicken” (Polly translates: “he means The Polish). George even notices the extra excitement the Phyllis Diller chicken displays when it’s feeding time. George discovered that chickens lay less eggs in the cold, and Polly learned that chickens huddle close together and sit on each other while laying eggs. Says Polly, “Collecting eggs from the chickens [is my favorite task], because I like that it’s like Easter every time!” It keeps her coming back.